It's important to clarify that although DCIS is considered pre-invasive cancer it's treatment options are:
Mastectomy or breast conservation surgery
Please refer to a journal written by John Boyages entitled "predictors of local recurrence after treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ"
"Mastectomy offers excellent results in terms of survival and local control.... Not every patient with DCIS, however, should be considered for breast conservation. If the disease is extensive enough that a resection with adequate clearance would significantly impair the cosmetic result, or if there are diffuse microcalcifications throughout the breast shown to be DCIS, a total mastectomy is recommended"
I had small breasts which meant 3/4 of my breast tissue was going to be removed. I also has high grade dcis with microcalcifications. And yes my diagnosis was not as bad as you. Women are having mastectomies who are at high risk of getting invasive cancer because of the level of clearance that is required to remove the ductal carcinoma.
The whole point of starting this blog was to make sure women diagnosed with early breast cancer (dcis or lcis) who are facing mastectomy are aware that reconstruction at the same time as mastectomy is an option. As some women are sadly not told.
John Boyages has just put out a new book about DCIS which is very informative and helpful if you have a dcis diagnosis. He explains the types of diagnosis that allow for breast preservation while also reasons for mastectomy for women with DCIS.
At the end of the day, regardless of diagnosis - education is the key. Making informed decisions is all that I want for other women who have a breast cancer diagnosis.
